Television Show Review: Eureka: Season 4.0

Eureka Reprised

For those unfamiliar with the Syfytelevision series Eureka, the show documents the adventures of a former United States marshall in the not-so-quiet town of Eureka, located somewhere near Portland, Oregon. The television show lasted a total of five seasons, just now ending in the year 2012. However, I didn’t want to merely review the last season, as the final season is inextricably tied with its predecessors, Seasons 4.0 and 4.5.

The town of Eureka houses a top secret government facility in which the greatest scientific minds America has to offer reside and work. Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) is the town’s sheriff and former United States marshall. He’s sharp, charming, and is constantly (every episode) rescuing the town from scientific mishaps. Strangely enough, even though the town is populated with the most brilliant minds out there, the scientists seem to lack common sense.

New Beginnings

A new story-arc is developed in season four, where Sheriff Carter, his love interest Alison Blake (Salli Richardson-Whitfield), town super genius Henry Deacon (Joe Morton), Deputy Jo Lupo (Erica Cerra), and science screw-up Douglas Fargo (Neil Grayston) end up mysteriously transported back in time to the year of Eureka’s founding. They, perhaps too quickly, return to the present with a scientist from that era, Dr. Trevor Grant (James Callis).

Upon their return, they find several things have changed significantly. Henry is now married, Lupo is the head of security for Global Dynamics (the main company where the scientists work), previous screw-up Douglas Fargo is now the director of Global Dymamics. Sadly, Lupo’s love interest and fiancé, former felon with a brilliant mind, Zane Donovan (Niall Matter) is once again a felon locked up in Eureka prison, and has no memory of their past engagement.

Challenges Emerge

The new timeline offers new challenges for the cast. Sheriff Carter must now compete for Allison’s affections with their visitor, Dr. Grant. Zane doesn’t remember Lupo as his lover, but only as his enemy—the one who puts him behind bars day after day. Henry is now married to a woman that he doesn’t know, and Fargo struggles with how to wield his newfound power.

The question becomes, what will the cast do and how will they cope with the changes? The changes give the show a large amount of pathos that I think the past two seasons lost a bit, something that revitalizes the series. Being thrust into a present that one didn’t create, nor has any control over certainly provides some tumult.

Season 4.5 (to follow in a future review) shows the outcome of the revised timeline, and Season 5 furthers the story to its end. If you haven’t seen the show, I think you’ll find that the entire series of Eureka has a wonderful combination of humor, seriousness, tragedy, and heartbreak—not to mention an ample amount of science fiction geekery. You can check it out on Netflix instant streaming any time to begin the addiction.